Materials: Photo Slide Show, video clips (coming soon!); Spanish reading, English translation, depending on the level of the students, it may be helpful to have samples of wool in various stages of the weaving process

Background Notes for Teachers:
The pictures for this unit were taken at the women's weaving cooperative, Mujeres de Vida Nueva. The group of women who live and work at the cooperative weave their products on pedal looms using locally produced lamb's wool. They currently represent three generations of women. When I asked one of them what they would like American students to know about them, she replied quite simply, "That we exist, that we have a language and a culture, and that we are proud of them." They tend gardens which provide much of the food they need. One of the women recently completed her nursing degree. She will continue in medical school to become a doctor, incorporating both modern techniques and the traditional healing practices of her people. Interesting fact: the cochineal beetle, used to produce the red dyes, is also used to produce the red or pink colors in Snapple beverages and other "natural" food products.

Strategies:
1. The reading in English can be used with the photos by art teachers to acquaint students with the techniques and designs of Zapotec weaving.
2. The reading in Spanish is most appropriate for upper-level Spanish students (level 3 or above), though it could be simplified for lower level students. The teacher can use the reading in Spanish along with the pictures to give an oral presenation about Zapotec weaving.
3. Because the reading contains many unfamiliar terms specific to weaving, it can be used as an exercise in guessing from context. Students can tackle the reading without the pictures, first identifying important vocabulary items they do not know and making guesses about their meaning based on context and/or cognates.
4. Students should also be able to identify the part of speech of the words they do not know, telling whether each is a noun, verb, or adjective.
5. Finally while looking at the pictures, students can learn the new words. Translation to English should not be necessary, though some students may wish to do so as homework to reinforce the words.

Assessment:
1. Given the steps involved in preparing the wool for weaving, students should be able to put those steps in order.
2. Ask students to list the natural resources used in the weaving process.
3. Give students another unfamiliar paragraph and ask them to apply the strategies for guessing from context that were practiced in this lesson.

Follow-up activities:
As the first paragraph of the reading indicates, emigration to the U.S. has caused role changes within the Zapotec community. Students may wish to research other effects of emigration and/or the history of the bracero program in the U.S.

Additional Resources:
Artisans in Focus -- Meet the Gonzalez family and learn more details about the weaving process
More Zapotec Weaving

References:
Zapotec Weavers of Teotitlan by Andra Fischgrund Fischgrund Stanton, Jaye R. Phillips (Photographer)
Zapotec bibliography